fifth place after ruling that her appeal was filed beyond the allotted one-minute period. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided on August 11 that Chiles had to give up the medal.
Chiles discussed the event in her first in-person interview, which she did on Wednesday at a panel discussion at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit 2024.
When the gymnast was questioned about the subject, she visibly choked up and started crying. “To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal, it’s about, you know, my skin color,” Chiles added.
In a prior statement published to X on August 15, Chiles said she was the target of “racially driven attacks” from social media users.
Three black competitors competed on the gymnastics podium for the first time in Olympic history when Chiles took home the bronze medal.
“It’s about the fact that there were things that have led up to this position of being an athlete and I felt like everything has been stripped.”
